YORK — York's Board of Supervisors approved contracts Tuesday night for the operation of the Riverwalk Landing piers and Sports Complex concessions. With two unanimous votes, the board approved the contracts at their regular monthly meeting. The Riverwalk Landing proposal continues an ongoing relationship with Maryland-based Coastal Properties Management Inc. that has run the piers since their inception in 2005. Supervisors voted down the proposed contract at a November board meeting after concerns were raised over a 5 percent management fee increase.

NEWPORT NEWS - The two security screening checkpoints at Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport may be combined into a single station. The Peninsula Airport Commission received an update on a proposed consolidation project, which would include an expanded lobby area between the two concourses, at the board's recent monthly meeting. A single streamlined checkpoint would open onto a curved central space with tall windows connecting concourses A and B, spanning a portion of what now is empty tarmac in the angle between the two gate areas.

USAir Inc. said Wednesday it had reached tentative agreement on concessions from the International Association of Machinists, clearing a major hurdle in the airline's efforts to trim $2.5 billion from its labor costs over five years. Details of the agreement were not immediately available, but the company had been seeking about $90 million in annual cost savings from the machinists. The airline now has tentative agreements for labor cost concessions with 35,000 of its nearly 45,000 employees.

RICHMOND – The fight began in earnest Sunday in what appears will be a protracted budget battle as Senate Democrats refused to agree to a Senate Finance Committee spending plan that offered concessions to them in many areas. The Senate budget proposal passed the committee on a 9-6 party line vote. It does away with Gov. Bob McDonnell's shift of sales tax revenue to fund transportation, restores funds absent in the governor's budget plan to help pay for the cost of inflation in K-12 public education and Medicaid, restores money to free health clinics, and includes provisions for a 2 percent salary increase for state employees and faculty at the state's four-year universities.

Part of what separates the United States from dictatorships is its respect for life and human rights. So it is that Iraq's detention of two Americans who were in the country illegally has swiftly escalated into an international incident. One cannot imagine such an incident happening along Iraq's borders with, say, the former Soviet Union or Iran. Nor is it likely either of those two would have made much of the matter. And Iraq might not have imposed eight-year sentences on persons who were not Americans for what appear to be minor offenses.

Pushing a baby carriage in the West Point Crab Carnival's baby/father parade was Kenneth Moskalski's first involvement with the annual event. "I've been in it three times with all three of my children," he recalls. For the fourth straight year, Moskalski is in charge of the Crab Carnival's food concessions, which are a major part of the festival happening tomorrow and Saturday. His wife, Sharon, and Greg Hayden are also on the concessions committee. Prior to taking on the role of chairman, Moskalski served a year as assistant.

REGION USAIR MIGHT SEEK CUTS USAir's board of directors will hold a special meeting next Thursday amid speculation that it will authorize management to again seek wage concessions from employees. Leaders at USAir's three major unions have been expecting a plea for concessions for weeks, in light of USAir's difficulty in competing with such lower-cost airlines as Continental and Southwest. USAIR SUIT. An appeals court threw out a $2.1 million judgment in a lawsuit filed by a pilot against USAir over injuries he claims he suffered when rain repellent seeped into the cockpit of the plane he was flying.

The next time you attend a Tabb High School sports activity, take the time to buy a box of popcorn...and say hello to Bev and Myran Sothcott. The Sothcotts have been working with the booster club concession stand for Tabb High since the early '70s when their children were students. Bev is the concessions chairman. Concessions are sold at events such as football, basketball, wrestling, soccer, baseball and sotfball games and gymnastics competitions. All money the booster club makes goes to the school's athletic club.

Smithfield coach Tyler Mosley doesn't treat her like a girl. Granted, he makes dressing room and weigh-in concessions. "But Warry goes through the same training and conditioning and discipline as the boys," Mosley said. "She's not as strong as the boys she wrestles, but she's in better shape and is very skillful. She quick and has very good technique. She surprises a lot of people."

Some 50 high school students "are real vital" to the functioning of the AMC Patrick Henry 7 Theaters, says general manager Don Ford. "Basically, they run the theaters," he says. "They run the projectors, sell concessions, clean up and help get the customers in and seated, especially if it's a big crowd." A good portion of the students work through high school and then leave the theaters for college. One is Ed Bray, who recently graduated Denbigh High School and will attend Thomas Nelson Community College.

Construction of the Poquoson Little League's concession stand will go on as planned now that City Council has agreed to provide funding for the project ahead of schedule. In order for groundbreaking for the project to take place by the end of the yearCity Council voted unanimously Oct. 24 to provide the city's Little League with $25,000 of the $40,000 set aside for construction costs. City Council agreed in May to provide up to $50,000 in funds, which included $10,000 for the installation of utilities and up to $40,000 for construction and material expenses.

YORK — York's Board of Supervisors approved contracts Tuesday night for the operation of the Riverwalk Landing piers and Sports Complex concessions. With two unanimous votes, the board approved the contracts at their regular monthly meeting. The Riverwalk Landing proposal continues an ongoing relationship with Maryland-based Coastal Properties Management Inc. that has run the piers since their inception in 2005. Supervisors voted down the proposed contract at a November board meeting after concerns were raised over a 5 percent management fee increase.

There's more than one way to skin the transportation cat. Virginia can address the pressing traffic problems in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia by raising taxes or by diverting money from other needs. Or maybe not, since those approaches seem to raise political roadblocks that state leaders aren't inclined to get around. Or Virginia can turn to another money source: the private sector. House of Delegates Speaker William Howell and Newport News Del. Phillip Hamilton were pitching that idea when they met with the Editorial Board last week.

The company that runs concessions at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater may have its alcoholic beverage license suspended for at least 10 days during the concert season for allowing underage drinking, according to an administrative judgment Monday. Exactly when the suspension takes place -- and what concerts are affected -- depends on whether the company decides to pay fines or to appeal the decision, according to Kristy Smith, spokeswoman for the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

Residents will have one last opportunity to speak on the proposed Villages of Gloucester tonight. In a final attempt to sweeten the palate of Gloucester's decision makers before an upcoming vote on the Villages of Gloucester, project developers have offered two new concessions intended to ease concerns over the massive project's contribution to urbanization of the rural county. Chief developer Mike Wilson said two legally binding amendments to project designs have been offered to "assure residents that the multi-family areas proposed will not have an urban look."

Declining earnings for movie theaters translate to bad times for the snack industry. Moviegoers tend to stuff themselves full of salty popcorn and sweet candy. But when people steer clear of the multiplex -- as audiences have done for three consecutive years -- manufacturers of theater snacks are left with a sour taste in their mouths. Much has been made that declining movie admissions and box-office grosses have clipped earnings for movie studios and film exhibitors. But audience apathy also is taking a bite out of the concession business, and particularly hard hit are companies that rely on movie theaters for the bulk of sales.

LANGLEY PROBLEMS In regard to Langley Raceway's problems, I would like to suggest that although the guardrails are in disrepair, they could be fixed Monday through Friday, instead of Saturday at 7 p.m. I have attended these races for the last 11 years, missing maybe three per year. At $10 average per race plus concessions, that nets them approximately $60 per month per person. Some tell me they want the races to run late to sell more concessions. This is a problem because I work early on Sundays.

Ford's Colony's developer and James City County's planning staff have almost resolved their differences over a proposal to add land to the golfing community off Longhill Road. The proposal adds 266 acres to the current 2,778 acres. The number of total homes allowed now is 3,250, but Ford's Colony would have to change its layout to get that many homes. Realtec Inc., the developer, argues that the homes are being spread out on more land. The effects of those homes were addressed by concessions that the developer made in the original rezoning, it says.

City council concessions and a price reduction pave the way for Ken Young to buy the team. The future of minor league hockey in Hampton Roads received a major boost Tuesday night when Norfolk Tides' owner Ken Young agreed to buy the Norfolk Admirals from Mark Garcea and Page Johnson for $2.8 million, and the Norfolk City Council approved major rent concessions. "It's a great day. The AHL continues in Hampton Roads," councilman Randy Wright said shortly after the body unanimously approved a three-year lease.

Smithfield coach Tyler Mosley doesn't treat her like a girl. Granted, he makes dressing room and weigh-in concessions. "But Warry goes through the same training and conditioning and discipline as the boys," Mosley said. "She's not as strong as the boys she wrestles, but she's in better shape and is very skillful. She quick and has very good technique. She surprises a lot of people."